(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-920F-2a, Fischer & Rohr WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$146 XF40BN 09-01-2018 eBay

Description

Fuld 920F-2a — store card of Fischer & Rohr, Watertown, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 4 known varieties, Fischer & Rohr produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 920F-2a) is common. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 4 cataloged varieties, Fischer & Rohr was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 920F-2a